The Forum Renovation

Once considered the music and sports mecca for southern California, the Forum in Inglewood is recapturing its glory days following a major “reinvention” that included a return to its original exterior color using advanced steel and concrete coating systems from Tnemec.

“The building is a National Historic Landmark,” explained John Carr, Vice President, Project Management, The Madison Square Garden Company. “Because of that, we had to be especially careful when it came to the exterior of the building. We had to make sure we found a single source coating system that would protect the building for many years.”The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., used several low VOC coatings systems from Tnemec to reinstate its status as a music and entertainment hotspot. Photos courtesy Stephen Schafer/Schaf Photo.

Constructed in 1967, the Forum was painted a vibrant red during its heyday as home for the Showtime-era Los Angeles Lakers basketball team, the Kings National Hockey League team, and major musical acts throughout the 1970s and ‘80s. Later, the exterior steel panels on the 330,000-square-foot arena were repainted blue, which deteriorated over time due to weathering.

“We removed all of the metal coatings right down to the bare galvanized steel and applied a Tnemec primer and fluoropolymer finish coat,” according to Carr. “Based on mockups using different shades of red, we selected a color that approximated the Forum’s original appearance. That same color has been named ‘Forum Red,’ which is now available from Tnemec.”

The exterior steel was primed with two coats of Series L69 Hi-Build Epoxoline II, a polyamidoamine epoxy coating with low volatile organic (VOC) content. The exterior finish was Series 1071V Fluoronar, a low-VOC fluoropolymer coating that resists ultraviolet (UV) light while providing outstanding gloss and color retention.

The Forum’s 72 precast concrete columns were prepared in accordance with SSPC-SP-13/NACE No. 6 Surface Preparation of Concrete, to remove deteriorated coatings, “which came flying off like confetti,” according to Tony Hobbs of TPC Consultants, Inc. “Once we blasted off the old coatings, we exposed bugholes and voids, which required the entire substrate to be resurfaced with Series 130 Envirofill, a waterborne cementitious acrylic coating that made the columns look like new again.”

The columns also received two coats of Series 156 Enviro-Crete, a breathable waterborne acrylate with the ability to bridge hairline cracks and expand and contract with normal fluctuations of the substrate. “All of the coatings met the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), which has the most restrictive VOC coatings regulations in the U.S.,” Hobbs acknowledged.

“We want to take exceptional care of the Forum,” Carr added. “That included the use of coating systems that would protect this landmark building for many years to come.”